McGhee to stick with 4-4-2 as he looks to consolidate squad

Mark McGhee, the Motherwell manager, has praised his side for adapting to a new system as they continue to target a third-place league finish this season.

McGhee changed his accustomed 4-3-3 formation to a 4-4-2 shape for the last two games against Gretna and Inverness, and was rewarded with six goals and six points, enough to see Motherwell move four points clear of Dundee United, who are in fourth place.

The manager, who has vowed to maintain his direct approach against Hearts at Fir Park today, said: "It wasn't just the fact we made some changes to the personnel and the system, it was also the the way we are playing - we have changed that completely.
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"We have changed from a team that were making a lot of passes to being a team that have become much more direct, and we are still getting results. Because of the surface, the midfield area is not an area where we are able to pass the ball at the moment.

"So we have got to cut that out and get the ball forward a bit earlier and a bit more directly to the strikers, so that will continue against Hearts."

Despite making changes on the park, McGhee is looking to provide some stability off it by securing players on longer and improved contracts.

Young strikers Jamie Murphy and Mark Archdeacon signed three-year extensions on Wednesday, while Stephen Craigan has also been given improved terms on his contract, which runs to 2010, and captain Paul Quinn has been offered a new extension.

"We expect within a couple of days Keith Lasley, Steven McGarry and people like that to sign new contracts," added McGhee. "We are going to lose Ross McCormack but we don't have to lose anyone else. And in the summer we have to add to it. I think Murphy and Archdeacon have the opportunity between now and the start of next season that they could take Ross's place if he leaves, as looks likely."

McGhee expects Hearts to be fired up for today's fixture after having been beaten on three occasions by Motherwell this season.

He said: "Hearts have twice been ahead of us so I think they will be saying to themselves, This is a team that we can beat, if we start well again then they are not always going to come back at us'. We cannot afford to let them get the first goal."

In the Hearts camp, interim head coach Stevie Frail believes defeat today would leave them with no chance of playing European football next season.

After losing 3-0 at Celtic Park last weekend the Edinburgh club trail their Fir Park counterparts, who have also played two games fewer, by a massive 14 points and time is running out for Frail to mastermind a late surge up the table.

"We will never give up on it until it's impossible," said Frail. "But it would be an almighty challenge to try and do it, you would probably have to try and win every single game between now and the end of the season.

"Defeat has not even been in our thoughts this week, everything has been positive. We took all the positives from the Celtic game and we are trying to keep that spirit going on the back of the three wins and three clean sheets we had."

Frail acknowledged that Motherwell at Fir Park represented a difficult proposition. He said: "You know the players individually and their strengths and weaknesses but there is always something different that teams can throw up. You can go and learn from watching teams but you are never 100% sure about what they are going to do with personnel or their shape."

Taken from the Herald